Interactions of vortices with a flexible beam with applications in fluidic energy harvesting

A cantilever piezoelectric beam immersed in a flow and subjected to naturally occurring vortices such as those formed in the wake of bluff bodies can be used to generate electrical energy harvested in fluid flows. In this paper, we present the pressure distribution and deflection of a piezoelectric beam subjected to controlled vortices. A custom designed experimental facility is set up to study the interaction of individual and multiple vortices with the beam. Vortex tori are generated by an audio speaker and travel at controlled rates over the beam. Particle image velocimetry is used to measure the 2-D flow field induced by each vortex and estimate the effect of pressure force on the beam deflection.

[1]  N. Elvin,et al.  Energy Harvesting from Highly Unsteady Fluid Flows using Piezoelectric Materials , 2010 .

[2]  Daniel J. Inman,et al.  On the energy harvesting potential of piezoaeroelastic systems , 2010 .

[3]  Amin Bibo,et al.  Energy harvesting under combined aerodynamic and base excitations , 2013 .

[4]  Yiannis Andreopoulos,et al.  The performance of a self-excited fluidic energy harvester , 2012 .

[5]  Paul K. Wright,et al.  A piezoelectric vibration based generator for wireless electronics , 2004 .

[6]  Y. Andreopoulos,et al.  Wake of a cylinder: a paradigm for energy harvesting with piezoelectric materials , 2010 .

[7]  Daniel J. Inman,et al.  Artificial piezoelectric grass for energy harvesting from turbulence-induced vibration , 2012 .

[8]  Daniel J. Inman,et al.  On the optimal energy harvesting from a vibration source using a PZT stack , 2009 .

[9]  Amir Elzawawy,et al.  Time Resolved Particle Image Velocimetry Techniques with Continuous Wave Laser and their Application to Transient Flows , 2012 .

[10]  M. Porfiri,et al.  Underwater energy harvesting from a heavy flag hosting ionic polymer metal composites , 2011 .

[11]  Amin Bibo,et al.  Investigation of Concurrent Energy Harvesting from Ambient Vibrations and Wind , 2013 .

[12]  Maurizio Porfiri,et al.  Energy exchange between a vortex ring and an ionic polymer metal composite , 2012 .

[13]  A. Smits,et al.  Energy harvesting eel , 2001 .

[14]  Hod Lipson,et al.  Ambient wind energy harvesting using cross-flow fluttering , 2011 .

[15]  Joseph Katz,et al.  Instantaneous pressure and material acceleration measurements using a four-exposure PIV system , 2006 .

[16]  Joseph R. Burns,et al.  The Energy Harvesting Eel: a small subsurface ocean/river power generator , 2001 .

[17]  Joseph A. Paradiso,et al.  Energy Scavenging with Shoe-Mounted Piezoelectrics , 2001, IEEE Micro.